So, you are a beyond wealthy Russian oil magnate with a borderline obsession with American comedy, mostly of the sketch variety. You are spectacularly wealthy, and as such want to set out to create the "perfect" sketch comedy series for you to enjoy again and again. Only the best will do, no corners will be cut, no expense spared. After meeting with HBO they agree to air it, but with the following stipulations:

1. The on-air cast may number no more than 14.

2. There must be at least 1 woman, and 1 "minority" (non-caucasian) due to advertisers' wishes.

Other than those wishes, everything else is up to you. Who do you have as the cast? Where do you set up shop? Who are your musical acts? How about writers??

For me, I think that I would shoot it in New York for no good reason other than that I'd rather have it there than L.A. Maybe Vegas though??

The meat of the question is the cast. The lifeblood of the show, a good cast can be the difference between a mildly funny show and the greatest comedic show of all time. Obviously, much time and effort would have to be put into putting together a wide-ranging cast with multiple talents and minimal ego. I'll try to do it in the next 10 minutes.

1. Although I find him to be slipping a little bit, first choice for this kind of project would be Will Ferrell. He's just too good at too many things to leave out. He would be even better without the limitations of network TV.

2. Next up would be Dave Chappelle, assuming he's sane and can produce the type of quality he did on his show. The rule of one minority has been taken care of, although I'd be a fool not to pick more.

3. First female chosen would be Sarah Silverman, because the show is on HBO and she's really funny, but also very dirty.

4. For zany big-guy antics, Jack Black would be the next guy chosen. Throw in the musical bit with Tenacious D and he fits perfectly.

5. For political/news type things, Steven Colbert would fit in nicely, although I think I'll go with Jon Stewart as a better choice because I think he has a bit more range.

6. Although I'd like to include Will Arnett, he can't always be Gob, so I'll go with David Cross from Arrested Development instead due to his work on Mr. Show.

7. For an experienced, older, wiser female role I'll go with Julia Louis-Dreyfus, knowing that she was a part of Saturday Night Live, and Seinfeld. A good counterpart to the dirty Silverman.

8/9. Does Chris Rock still have it?? Could he bring some of the magic back?? How about Martin Lawrence?? What about both?? I may regret both of these picks, but I'll take either of them at this point over Tracy Morgan, any Wayans brother, and the Goodburger dude.

10. I need another female, and after thinking about it for a bit, Amy Poehler gets the nod. She's solid enough in SNL, was in the Upright Citizens Brigade and Wonder Showzen, and has done some funny guest star stuff on Arrested Development and Mean Girls.

11. We're probably going to need someone to do a lot of impersonations, and for that purpose I guess Frank Caliendo would be the choice, although I'm not very knowledgeable about really good impersonators, so if anyone knows anyone better, suggestions are welcome.

12/13. A couple wildcards to round off the cast, Bill Murray and Vince Vaughn. Who knows if they would work out, but if they did it could be genius.

So there's your cast, take it for what it's worth. But even the strongest of casts may still blow without the right people writing for them. I'm sure the cast could and would probably write much of their own stuff, but for added help a top notch writing crew is needed. Here's who I would hire:

1. The Lonely Island boys, Andy, Akiva and Jorma. Already writing for SNL, an HBO show would really free them up and hilarity would ensue.

2. Trey Parker and Matt Stone. The possibilities are (almost, because the characters aren't animated) limitless with these two.

3. 3 or 4 writers from The Onion, for the news alone, but something tells me they could probably do anything else just as well.

4/5/6. Conan O' Brien, Larry David and Tina Fey, because they're proven, have worked with much of the cast and they're very funny people.

Wow. Some good writing talent there.

So there we go, it has all the making of the funniest show in the history of the world. Shot in Las Vegas with the best collection of comedic talent in the world, the buzz and hype around the show would be gigantic. How long do you think it would last? Even if everyone was paid very handsomely and the show did very well, won awards, etc., how long until the egos take over and the cast starts to bicker, do drugs, get arrested or leave?? I'd give it around 12 to 15 episodes.

Oh well, it was good while it lasted.